Associations between intending to self-isolate and psychological factors and isolation-specific beliefs, by sample
| Factor | Level | General population | Grindr | ||
| B (95% CI) | P value | B (95% CI) | P value | ||
| Amount heard about mpox | I have not seen or heard anything (1) to I have seen or heard a lot (3) | 0.09 (−0.07 to 0.24) | 0.26 | 0.09 (−0.41 to 0.23) | 0.57 |
| Worry about mpox | Not at all worried (1) to extremely worried (4) | 0.26 (0.13 to 0.39) | <0.001* | 0.41 (0.12 to 0.71) | 0.006 |
| Perceived risk of mpox to oneself | No risk at all (1) to very high risk (5) | 0.05 (−0.17 to 0.06) | 0.39 | 0.25 (−0.46 to −0.04) | 0.02 |
| Perceived risk of mpox to people in UK | No risk at all (1) to very high risk (5) | 0.19 (0.07 to 0.31) | 0.001* | 0.030 (−0.20 to 0.25) | 0.82 |
| Perceived susceptibility and severity | Lowest (1) to highest (5) | 0.03 (0.19 to 0.42) | <0.001* | 0.12 (−0.13 to 0.37) | 0.36 |
| I am already immune to mpox | Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, don’t know | Ref | – | Ref | – |
| Strongly agree and agree | 0.27 (0.03 to 0.52) | 0.03 | 0.12 (−0.61 to 0.36) | 0.62 | |
| People who catch mpox usually make a full recovery, even if they do not receive any treatment | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.05 (-0.14 to 0.03) | 0.23 | 0.26 (-0.43 to −0.08) | 0.004 |
| My personal behaviour has an impact on how mpox spreads | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.09 (0.03 to 0.15) | 0.004 | 0.08 (−0.06 to 0.22) | 0.26 |
| My life has been negatively affected by changes made in response to the mpox outbreak | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.01 (−0.09 to 0.07) | 0.89 | 0.03 (−0.17 to 0.11) | 0.70 |
| The risks of mpox are being exaggerated | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.19 (−0.27 to −0.11) | <0.001* | 0.07 (−0.24 to 0.09) | 0.39 |
| Mpox is only a risk to men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.02 (−0.08 to 0.05) | 0.58 | 0.17 (−0.32 to −0.02) | 0.03 |
| Perceived knowledge | Lowest (0) to highest (3) | 0.01 (−0.08 to 0.07) | 0.88 | 0.18 (−0.37 to 0.02) | 0.08 |
| Knowledge of mpox symptoms | Identified no symptoms (0) to identified four symptoms (4) | 0.08 (0.03 to 0.14) | 0.003 | 0.06 (−0.06 to 0.19) | 0.31 |
| Knowledge of mpox transmission | Lowest (0) to highest (6) | 0.02 (−0.03 to 0.07) | 0.42 | 0.04 (−0.10 to 0.17) | 0.59 |
| If I had mpox symptoms, I wouldn't want to tell anyone as I don't want to self-isolate | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.66 (−0.73 to −0.60) | <0.001* | 1.01 (−1.15 to −0.87) | <0.001* |
| Most people would self-isolate if they were told to | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.34 (0.28 to 0.41) | <0.001* | 0.41 (0.28 to 0.54) | <0.001* |
| If I had to self-isolate because I had tested positive for mpox…it would have a negative impact on my work | Strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) | 0.15 (−0.21 to −0.09) | <0.001* | 0.34 (−0.46 to −0.21) | <0.001* |
A higher score indicates greater intention to self-isolate. Variables were entered into the linear regression model in blocks (block 1: sociodemographic variables and motivational message, block 2: psychological factors, block 3: isolation-specific beliefs). Results for block 3, using pooled estimates are reported.
*p≤0.001.